<p>Your parents might be resistant to the idea now because they don’t understand it, and they may also be a little fearful of you going away from the family to gain this experience that they can’t understand. That’s perfectly normal for your situation, but you don’t need to be bound by that. </p>
<p>Definitely try to talk to your college counselor, and maybe also get your parents to talk to them. I agree with what others said here, with that SAT score, if you also have good grades, you have a very wide open field and you may be able to get good merit aid at several excellent schools. If your high school has any kind of “college night” where the counselors discuss the application process with the parents, try to get at least one of your parents to go. The more you familiarize them with the process the better. </p>
<p>Also, try to frame college in terms they’ll understand: yes, you don’t necessarily NEED it to get by, but if you went to college and say, majored in business for example, it will open a lot of doors for you and for your family. If you became a lawyer, same deal. If you want to study English, it might be a little harder to draw the connections for them, but try. Right now they’re not seeing how college fits with the future they envision for you, so try to draw the connections for them. </p>
<p>They want what’s best for you, and presumably they came to the US for better opportunity. But naturally, having experienced so much instability in there lives, they’re hesitant about taking risks on new things. Just try to be patient and work slowly and steadily to help them understand why you want this.</p>